With a math-heavy playoff qualification system that seems to change every year, this can be a confusing time of year for Section 1 football fans. The questions abound: Who’s in? Who’s out? What’s next?

Hopefully, this will provide some clarity. Here are six things you need to know about Section 1’s football playoffs:

1. The Class AA, A and B tournaments are based on a power-point formula

The teams will qualify and be seeded based on their Total Power Points (TPP). Those points are earned each week throughout the season, but they also change depending on results.

Here’s a quick synopsis: Teams earn six (6) Quality Points (QP) for each win. In Class AA and A, they earn anywhere from one (1) to four (4) Preseason Rank Points (PRP) for playing each game; the number is based on how each opponent was ranked by the coaches in the preseason. They also earn Residual Points (RP) based on the opponent’s record. A winning team earns three (3) points for every win the opposition has. A losing team earns one (1) point for every other win its opponent has. Naturally, the totals for games played earlier in the season continue to shift each week.

2. Confused yet? Here's the formula

Clarkstown South, the No. 1 team in Class A, finished the regular season 6-0. The Vikings earned 36 Quality Points for those six wins. They also earned 19 Preseason Rank Points — four apiece for Yorktown (preseason No. 2), Clarkstown North (No. 4) and Rye (No. 5), three for Spring Valley (No. 11) and two apiece for Nyack (No. 14) and Tappan Zee (No. 15). Lastly, they earned 63 Residual Points based on the win totals for those teams.

Clarkstown South football won 27-7 over Yorktown at Clarkstown South Oct. 5, 2018.(Photo11: Peter Carr/The Journal News)

3. The Class A seeds are set... sort of

Unlike the other classes, Class A seeds its top 16 teams for a playoff qualifying round. The eight winners of those games, which are scheduled for this Friday and Saturday, will be reseeded for next week’s quarterfinals based on their current seeds.

Here’s a quick example: If No. 10 Yorktown upsets No. 7 Somers but all the other higher-seeded teams win, Yorktown will become the No. 8 seed in the quarterfinals and Spring Valley (now the No. 8) will be bumped up, replacing Somers as the No. 7.

4. The Class AA and B playoff fields are in flux

With just seven teams, the playoff teams in Class B are set. All seven will qualify. Ardsley, which is 6-0, has already secured the No. 1 seed and will have a bye in next week’s quarterfinals.

However, in Class AA, only John Jay-East Fishkill, New Rochelle, Mamaroneck and Arlington — currently in that order in the standings — have enough points to clinch playoffs berths. Those teams’ seeds could change based on this weekend’s results, but they are in.

The remaining four playoff berths are very much undetermined. Currently, Yonkers Force, White Plains, Carmel and Ossining sit tenuously at Nos. 5-8 in the standings and can all clinch playoff spots with wins. However, Ketcham, Yonkers Brave and Port Chester can still qualify.

Based on the Residual Points, which can shift in a number of directions based on this week’s results, there are numerous permutations. What’s clear is that Ketcham, the Brave and Port Chester not only need to win, they need help.

5. Saturday’s Pleasantville at Westlake game holds the key in Class B

The rematch of last year’s Section 1 final — a thriller won in overtime by eventual state champ Pleasantville — will determine seeds Nos. 2-4. If Pleasantville wins, it will be the No. 2 seed behind Ardsley. However, if Westlake wins (and Nanuet beats Albertus Magnus), Pleasantville, Westlake and Nanuet will all be 4-2 and all be 1-1 against one another. With all tiebreakers being equal, the seeds would be awarded by a random draw.